Moist lemon pound cake with the fresh aroma of ginger makes for a perfect snack any time of the day.
As much as I love over-the-top cakes, there’s something comforting in the simplicity of a basic cake alongside a cup of coffee or tea. This is a moist, slightly sticky cake with a crunchy crust, lemon tang, and just a little bit of fresh ginger for a subtle warmth.
The lemon flavor is prominent, while the fresh ginger adds a delicate aroma that is mostly in the background. You can add more ginger if you like, either fresh or ground. You can also enhance the flavor by mixing into the batter a few tablespoons of finely chopped crystallized ginger.
The strong lemon flavor comes from the use of both lemon zest and juice along with a syrup soaked onto the top of the cake, making it wonderfully moist and sticky and fresh for longer. It also gives it an appealing shiny look.
The flavors actually get stronger after a day or two, making the cake even better.
- 1½ cups (200 g/7 oz) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (120 ml) milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (175 g/6.2 oz) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated peeled ginger
- ½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons water
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 320F/160C. Grease an 8½ x 4¼-inch loaf pan and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, ground ginger, and salt. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Set bowls aside.
- In another small bowl, toss together sugar, lemon zest, and grated ginger using your fingers until well combined or process the mixture in a food processor. This step is necessary to get the flavors out of the lemon and ginger.
- Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and lemon-sugar mixture. Beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Occasionally scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. On low speed, beat in half of the flour mixture, followed by the milk mixture, and then the rest of the flour mixture. Do not over mix.
- Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. If the top is browning too fast while baking, cover pan loosely with aluminum foil. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before adding the syrup.
- To make the syrup: While cake is in the oven, prepare the syrup. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, lemon juice, and water. Cook on medium-low heat until sugar dissolves and syrup forms. Set aside to cool.
- While cake is still warm, poke the top a few times with a toothpick, then brush with syrup. Allow cake to cool completely on a wire rack. The syrup makes it extra moist, so if it’s cut while still warm, it may crumble.
18 Comments
Amanda
November 24, 2016 at 2:37 pmLemon and ginger…my two favourite things. Will be trying for sure.
Maraia
December 6, 2016 at 7:36 pmCould I switch out the lemon and ginger for an orange loaf?
Shiran
December 7, 2016 at 6:59 amYou could, but I like to use both zest and and juice for an orange cake. Using only zest gives a subtle flavor. I have two great recipes if you’d like to try them, one for orange muffins and the other for an orange almond cake.
Basira
April 7, 2017 at 1:35 pmhey Shiran! Thanks for your recipe. I don’t trust any recipe but I tried this and it turned out good. Such a fresh smell of lemon and ginger. I will try your other recipes and let you and your readers know. Just the syrup crystallized and gave a bad look to the cake 🙁
Shiran
April 7, 2017 at 2:09 pmI’m glad you like the cake, if you use the syrup on a warm cake, it shouldn’t crystallize, rather soak into the cake. But personally I also love the look of a sticky crystallized glaze!
Anuradha
April 28, 2017 at 3:31 pmA beautiful recipe, while the house was filled with love and lemons, the cake once done was polished by my son, who normally would not take to anything that is not slathered in chocolate.
Your passion for baking comes across,
Many thanks
Shiran
April 29, 2017 at 9:00 amThank you so much!
Karine
May 26, 2017 at 5:15 pmI was wondering if I wanna store it overnight. What is the best option? Thx !
Shiran
May 29, 2017 at 4:39 amYou can store it in the fridge and bring to room temperature before serving.
Lori
May 10, 2018 at 9:43 pmShould I remove the cake from the pan as soon as i take it out of the the oven?
Shiran
May 11, 2018 at 7:29 amHi Lori, you can either leave it in the pan, or remove it from the pan and place on a wire rack about 15 minutes after you take it out of the oven.
Mihaela
November 24, 2018 at 3:45 amHi Shiran,
Thanks a lot for the recipe! 🙂
I searched for such recipe where lemons and giner blend together.
One question from my side : the measurements in teaspoon vs table spoon : could you add the measurement in grams? I am a more precises type of person which uses the scale , over tsp vs tbsp measurement.
Is not that I am lazy to google the corresponding measurements in grams, but…they might be different, in my way of “reading” the results.
Thank you! 🙂
Shiran
November 27, 2018 at 5:56 amHi Mihaela 🙂 Some ingredients are easier for me to measure in volume rather than grams, so I don’t have all the measurements in grams. 1 teaspoon = 5ml, 1 tablespoon = 15ml.
Olga
February 19, 2019 at 4:55 amGod I love this blog!!!!! Your recipes make me drool over my laptop EVERY TIME!
Suggestion: Have you tried substituting the milk with whisky
I have my own recipe for lemon ginger cake, which is very similar to yours, where instead of milk I use the same amount of whisky and it is OH SO WORTH IT. Lemon, ginger and whisky is an unbeatable dessert flavour combo!
Shiran
February 20, 2019 at 7:20 amI’ll have to try it. Thanks for the tip!
ZILANI KHONJE
March 19, 2019 at 2:24 pmHello Shiran. I have tried baking this cake and I must say it is delicious. My family is in love with this easy to bake and tasty cake. Thank you.
Julie
March 11, 2020 at 11:59 amDelicious intense flavours, perfectly moist, everyone loved it!
Bhavya
September 3, 2020 at 2:56 pmAny replacement for egg